The schooner Nina, a 70′ Burgess designed yacht built in 1928, was last heard from on June 4, when it was battling a storm off New Zealand. The yacht had sailed from Opua in the Bay of Islands bound for Newcastle, Australia on May 29. On board were the Dyche family, Captain David Dyche, 58, his wife Rosemary, 60, and their son, also named David, 17. Four other crew sailed with the family – Evi Nemeth, 73, a a retired Colorado University professor and computer engineer; as well as two other Americans, a man aged 28, a woman aged 18; and a British man aged 35.
On June 14, Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre started a communications search in which they attempted to contact the boat over various radio frequencies and also contacted other vessels in the area to see if they’d seen the Nina. This week they began two extensive searches by an RNZAF Orion which failed to spot the schooner or any signs of crew. On Thursday, RCCNZ began a shoreline search above Northland, to search for any wreckage or a life raft. Thus far nothing has been found.
No SOS messages were received from the Nina nor was the EPIRB activated. New Zealand Search and Rescue officer Neville Blakemore is reported to have said that the EPIRB aboard the schooner was not a hydro-statically activated design and would not automatically send a signal if the yacht sank. “If the vessel got knocked over by a rogue wave it would have happened very, very quickly and they may not have had time to, to launch any life-saving equipment,” Blakemore added.
This leg of the voyage was to have been the last family sailing trip before David Dyche IV headed off to college in the US.
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I CREWED ON NINA FROM 78 – 88 OUT OF NEW BEDFORD UNDER THE
FORMER OWNER HANS VAN NES I WAS ALSO THE CAPTAIN LATE IN
SUMMER OF 88
ALL OF US WHO SAILED ON HERE FEEL A GREAT LOSS
OUR PRAYERS GO OUT TO DYCHE FAMILY AND FRIENDS
She was leaking 20ltrs a minute here at the dock in Opua, pumps going non-stop. Skipper claimed not to be bothered with alignment of shaft in new engine due to what he called “keel wag” in a seaway. Ashby’s offered a serious discount to haul and inspect , paint bottom, skipper claimed to be out of money (boat had not been hauled in 3 years), and waiting to do it somewhere cheaper. Wx models showed low forming in Tasman, skipper went straight into it anyway, with 6 onboard. Standard trip would be up to trades in order to make westing, then down Aussie coast with current. None of it makes sense. All of it will mean more regulation for the rest of us who do not sail straight into storms, or sail offshore in leaky 85 yr old wooden boats with “keel wag”. A real tragedy.
I mean a real tragedy for those lost, not for the regulations. which are unfortunate.
those are all the right rumors floating around northland boatyards, but only the bit about the low in the tasman is verifiable. she was a beautiful and very well sailed boat ( cleaned up at the traditional boat races in nz last summer). hope and pray for a miracle….
My dad did a lot of work on this vessel during his years at Henry B. Nevins on City Island in the 1950s when DeCoursey Fales owned it. He spent a lot of time working on it for Mr. Fales over several years. I came across this sad story while looking for the whereabouts of all the yachts he either built or rebuilt or maintained between the 1940s and 1960s. We weren’t expecting to read something as tragic as this.
Carol T., Please email me when you get a chance. My Dad too worked at Nevins. k.clancy@rcn.com